White House
Also: President or POTUS. The White House is the United States executive mansion. A literal location that serves as the home and work space of the United States President. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. The White House has stood for over two hundred years being first occupied by President John Adams in 1800. The physical house has suffered fire, countless additions and changes, and a complete gutting during the Truman administration to rebuild the interior. It was first officially called "The White House" during the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt. It got the name after being rebuilt after the war of 1812. The soot stains on the sandstone structure could not be removed, so it was painted white. One windowsill to the right of the main entrance is not painted to show the damage and original color. "The White House" is also the metaphorical term for the United States administration. It is common in both news reports and casual conversation much as "The Pentagon" means the US military. Presidents in the Game 'William Clinton --' (1993-2001) Team Blue Technically President when the VC game started, no appearances. 'Josiah Bartlet --' (2001-2009) Team Blue Bartlet was a gnostic president He has overseen the successful resolution of the Meteor Crisis, and hosted the World's first alien contact. He set up the Warp Drive Project. He wryly commented that he seems to be constantly pinning medals on Steven Ashby. Now gently aging into elder statesmanship. A visit to the National Cathedral during the Healing Wave took care of his Parkinson's disease. In the Know, semi Trusted ''Robert M. Russel--' (Term 2009-2013) Team Blue Russel is the hand picked successor to Bartlet. He is more of a practical politician less of an idealist, but he is not messing with something that works. Robert is a go getter. He first impresses people as a sort of shallow used car salesman kind of politician, He has a quick smile and a firm handshake for everyone. Get him out of the spot light and he stops running for office. Underneath the shallow politician is a man of considerable learning and tolerance. He is not hasty to make a call on something, he wants the facts. He despises yes men and telling him a pleasant lie is the quickest way to get fired. Some people have compared him to a thinner and slightly less profane LBJ. It is not a comparison that he feels flatters him, but it isn't totally inaccurate either. President Russel has presidential firsts. He is the first president to visit another world when he was taken to the Ane worlds of El Nanth via The Express. Secret Service agents not yet born had heart attacks over that. In the know, semi-trusted The Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States (usually referred to as the U.S. President's Cabinet or simplified as the Cabinet) is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments. The existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first American President, George Washington, who appointed a Cabinet of four people (Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton; Secretary of War Henry Knox; and Attorney General Edmund Randolph) to advise and assist him in his duties. Cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the United States Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If approved, they are sworn in and begin their duties. Aside from the Attorney General, and previously, the Postmaster General, they all receive the title Secretary. Members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President, which means the President may remove them at will. Departments *Department of State -- Secretary of State Milicent Clinton -- January 21, 2009 *Department of the Treasury -- Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner -- January 26, 2009 *Department of Defense -- Secretary of Defense Leon Pottella -- July 1, 2011 *Department of Justice -- Attorney General Eric Holder -- February 2, 2009 *Department of the Interior -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar -- January 20, 2009 * Department of Agriculture -- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack -- January 20, 2009 *Department of Commerce -- Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank -- August 1, 2011 *Department of Labor -- Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis -- February 24, 2009 *Department of Health and Human Services -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius -- April 28, 2009 *Department of Housing and Urban Development -- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan -- January 26, 2009 *Department of Transportation -- Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood -- January 22, 2009 *Department of Energy -- Secretary of Energy Steven Chu -- January 20, 2009 *Department of Education -- Secretary of Education Arne Duncan -- January 20, 2009 *Department of Veterans Affairs -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki -- January 20, 2009 Order of precedence During a meeting of the President's Cabinet, members are seated according to the order of precedence, with higher ranking officers sitting closer to the center of the table. Hence, the President and Vice President sit directly across from each other at the middle of the oval shaped table. Then, the Secretaries of State and Defense are seated directly to the right and left, respectively, of the President and the Secretary of Treasury and the Attorney General sit to right and left, respectively, of the Vice President. This alternation of ranked seating continues, with lower ranking Cabinet-level officers sitting farther away from the President and Vice President. Line of succession The Cabinet is also important in the presidential line of succession, which determines an order in which Cabinet officers succeed to the office of the president following the death or resignation of the president. At the top of the order of succession are the Vice President, Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate, and Secretary of State. Because of this, it is common practice not to have the entire Cabinet in one location for ceremonial occasions like the State of the Union Address, where at least one Cabinet member does not attend. This person is the designated survivor, and he or she is held at a secure, undisclosed location, ready to take over if the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State and the rest of the Cabinet are killed. Cabinet Level Positions *Office of the Vice President -- Vice President Barack Obama -- January 20, 2009 *Executive Office of the President -- White House Chief of Staff William Daley -- January 13, 2011 *Office of Management and Budget -- Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jacob Lew -- November 18, 2010 *Environmental Protection Agency -- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa P. Jackson -- January 23, 2009 *Office of the Trade Representative -- Trade Representative Ron Kirk -- March 18, 2009 *United States Mission to the United Nations -- Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice -- January 22, 2009 *Council of Economic Advisers -- Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers -- Vacant Category:Places Category:Politics Category:Lexicon Category:USA